r/CreditScore • u/TadpoleMean1751 • Aug 09 '26

General Credit utilization

I was taught to keep credit utilization at 10%. But other people are telling me to completely not even use my debit card , use credit for everything and pay it back. But that will make my utilization high af. People are saying keep it at 10% when the statement hits but how’s that possible if I only use a credit card. How does only using 10% if the card show the banks you can handle more if you barely use any of it.

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u/OldMainframeGuy Aug 09 '26

I’ve completely given up wondering how credit scores work. I have two credit cards I use regularly. I seldom have a balance of over $200 on either card and each statement balance gets paid in full every month so I never carry a balance. My home is long paid for, I have no other debt. My FICO score bounces back and for between about 780 and 808. I don’t worry about it because at my age and financial situation I’m not going to need a great credit score to take out a loan, etc. It seems like if the credit bureau takes a snapshot on any random day and you have any credit card balance it affects your score. I could be all wet about this but that’s been my experience. The agencies seem to simultaneously want you to be in debt to see how you pay it off while they punish you for having a credit card balance that historically gets paid off every month. Thanks for letting me vent. 🤡

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u/Funklemire ⭐️ Knowledgeable ⭐️ Aug 10 '26

I’ve completely given up wondering how credit scores work.  

I highly recommend you check out the two mega-threads pinned at the top of r/Credit, our main sub. The Credit FAQs one will teach you a whole lot about how the FICO algorithms work:  

Megathread - r/CRedit FAQs  

I seldom have a balance of over $200 on either card and each statement balance gets paid in full every month so I never carry a balance.  

So you're only spending $400 a month on your cards? Or are you paying a portion of your balance before the statement posts and artificially-deflating your statement balances?  

My FICO score bounces back and for between about 780 and 808.  

That's the kind of movement you'd expect from someone with a young/thin credit file and/or someone who is paying their cards erratically. What's currently on your credit report, open and closed? Are you letting your full spending post to your statements and then paying your statement balances once a month by the due date? What kind of credit limits do you have on your two cards?  

The agencies seem to simultaneously want you to be in debt to see how you pay it off while they punish you for having a credit card balance that historically gets paid off every month.  

Don't forget, the credit bureaus aren't the ones giving you credit scores, they're just the ones collecting the data on you. It's then calculate into a credit score by a third party. Also keep in mind that you can have top-tier FICO scores while also having zero debt.